Retrieval
by JCB
Summary: *Final chapter up* Aeryn is captured and Crichton sets out to rescue her. Set after destruction of Command Carrier. Ignores events of Dog with two Bones and Season 4. (This is my first story so feedback gratefully accepted)
1. Chapters 1 to 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Farscape or any of the characters. I'm only borrowing them!  
  
  
  
Retrieval  
  
Chapter 1  
  
As D'Argo entered command, John Crichton sat with his elbows on the table and his head resting in his hands, staring out at space. D'Argo could see his friend had his "pensive" look on. "I've come to relieve you my friend"  
  
"If only you could D, if only you could" replied Crichton morosely  
  
"Sorry John, you've lost me. Not a novel experience, I'll admit, but becoming rarer of late." D'Argo smiled and tried to lighten John's mood without much success.  
  
"Relieve me of this heavy weight round my heart called My Hopeless Love for One Who Cannot Bring Herself to Return the Favour!"  
  
"Ah" said D'Argo, beginning to understand. "How was your watch with Aeryn?"  
  
"Oh, you know, the usual. Long periods of silence interspersed with me talking to myself just to see if I could get any reply"  
  
"Look on the bright side, John, at least she now is able to stay in the same room with you, even if there isn't much in the way of conversation"  
  
"Yeah, and she did actually say something to me today. Pilot picked up this spatial anomaly a couple of arns ago so I suggested that I go look at it in my module, to which the charming Miss Sun replied "that bucket of dren couldn't make it there in one piece, I'll go in my Prowler" and stormed out"  
  
"Hmm. What kind of spatial anomaly?" said D'Argo with interest. "Didn't you think to wake anyone else before taking action?"  
  
"It was just a big cloud thing that Pilot couldn't see through, so Aeryn's checking out whether there is anyone we don't particularly want to meet hanging around the other side. It was no big deal, we're probably just being over cautious after that bounty hunter we ran into on Veldus 9. Thought you could probably do with the shut eye"  
  
At that moment the comms began to crackle. "Crichton, Crichton, can you hear me?"  
  
"Receiving you loud and clear Aeryn"  
  
"I've reached the cloud thing. The sensors still can't penetrate even at this close distance. I'm going to have a look at the other side. There's a small moon, nothing much; sensors don't pick up any life forms. Picking up something else though..oh, frell" with this last exclamation Aeryn broke off  
  
"Aeryn, damnit what is it?"  
  
"Marauder.they're jamming trans....immo.pulse...must be...retriev.. squa..." and with that the comms went dead.  
  
"Hot holy frelling damn, blast and dren"  
  
"You can say that again John!"  
  
  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Everyone was gathered in command to discuss the latest crisis. Crichton was standing slightly back against the wall in the shadows. "Well, yes it is very unfortunate that Aeryn has apparently been captured by the Peacekeepers, but there's no reason for us all to be captured. I say that we starburst out of here immediately" Rygel, selfish as ever.  
  
"But what if she hasn't been captured and just can't communicate with us? We owe it to her to at least go and look" said Chiana, betraying how much she had changed from the brat who had first come aboard Moya.  
  
"And walk right into a Peacekeeper trap? You may think I'm only saying this for my own good but Aeryn wouldn't want that" replied Rygel pompously  
  
"People, people" said D'Argo, "John and I will go take a look behind this cloud thing in Lo'la with the stealth mode fully activated. If the worse comes to the worse we'll just blow them to bits before they blow us to bits"  
  
On Lo'la  
  
"I'm sure she's OK, John"  
  
"You don't really believe that, D'Argo and neither do I. If she has been taken by the Peacekeepers, they're either gonna use her as bait to capture me or she was their target and they've probably already killed her"  
  
"If she was the target then I don't think they would kill her, John. Retrieval squads work to orders. They retrieve their prey and return them to their masters. I would imagine that the Peacekeepers would dearly like to capture a renegade like Aeryn and use her as an example to any dissenters in the ranks"  
  
"Somehow that doesn't fill me with comfort. Now lets have a look at this cloud. Hmm, just like the one the Cylons used to hide their attack force behind."  
  
"The Cylons? I don't remember us coming across any species with that name"  
  
"God, D'Argo, you did drink a lot of raslak on that trip" John replied with the ghost of a grin. D'Argo brought the ship through the cloud. They saw the moon that Aeryn had described and nothing else. Just open, empty space.  
  
"She's gone" John stated forlornly  
  
  
  
Back on Moya no one quite knew what to do. D'Argo entered John's quarters to find him strapping on Winona and packing a bag. "John, where the frell do you think you're going"  
  
"I have to go after her D. Even if we're not, not, you know, on the best of terms at the moment. I got her mixed up with all this dren to start with. You know that if they take her to Grayza or High command or whoever ordered her capture she will be summarily tried and executed. I can't let that happen without at least attempting to rescue her"  
  
"What if it's not any of them? What if Scorpius is still alive and using Aeryn to get you? You'll either get yourself killed or let them get the wormhole knowledge and you know Aeryn wouldn't want either to happen"  
  
"Well she's not here to stop me. I have to take the risk. When we get back I promise I'll buy a pipe and some slippers and put my feet up somewhere safe for the rest of my life. Thanks for the concern my friend, but you know I have to do this and I have to do it by myself 'cos, if she is with them the only way I'm gonna have a chance of getting her out is with the famous Crichton Peacekeeper impression again." D'Argo shook his head  
  
"you really think that one will still work? It was pretty frelling awful before you were top of the Peacekeeper's most wanted list. Sonmeone's bound to recognise you"  
  
"Na, luck of the Crichtons! Think about it D. If it is me they're after then it won't matter if they recognise me; I can just trade myself for Aeryn. If it wasn't me, they're hardly gonna expect the infamous John Crichton to come walking in to free a ship mate; remember, these guys aren't exactly in touch with their emotional sides"  
  
"Don't tell me that your plan is to just walk in to wherever they've got Aeryn, even Peacekeeper High command, and walk out with her? That stinks as a plan, even one of yours"  
  
"Well it's only at the bare bones stage at the moment; I'll put on the flesh as I go along"  
  
"That Diagnosan must have taken away more of your brain than we thought!"  
  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence D." With a smile John grasped his friend's shoulder briefly and ran towards Pilot's den.  
  
  
  
"Hey, Pilot, I need any data you have on inhabited planets in this area and directions to Peacekeeper space"  
  
"Of course, Commander. Then it's true, you think that Aeryn has been captured by the Peacekeepers?"  
  
"Well we can keep hoping that it's something different and I'm gonna start with the local planets but I want those charts just in case. Do you think it's safe for Moya to hang around in this part of space for a while?"  
  
"We have sufficient supplies for about a monen, as long as dominar Rygel doesn't have one of his eating binges. I suggest that we return to the Gastran system. If we detect any danger Moya can hide in the asteroid field there.  
  
"OK, good idea, Pilot. If I'm not back in 20 solar days or if any Peacekeepers or other nasties turn up get the hell out of there. I'll find you again somehow"  
  
"Good luck, Commander. I hope you are able to retrieve Officer Sun. I'm very fond of her you know"  
  
"So am I pilot, so am I" replied John, stroking the huge creature's smooth head.  
  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
John sat at the only bar in what he knew Aeryn would describe as "a waste hole of a planet" and nursed his drink. "God, if I knew when new year's was I would make a resolution to quit this stuff" he thought, "it's under an arn since D'Argo dropped me off and I'm already in a bar. But remember Johnny boy, best place to get information is from the drunk and disorderly". He decided to start with the barman, who looked a bit shifty but vaguely intelligent  
  
"Anywhere on this planet I can get some transport?"  
  
"Depends where you want to go"  
  
"I don't want to hire it, I want to buy it. I need a ship"  
  
"Best to try Dravel's down at the space port"  
  
Entering Dravel's somewhat dingy establishment, John's heart skipped a beat. Parked amongst the various other vehicles and bits of space craft was a Peacekeeper Prowler. John wandered over to the office area as a rather interesting individual came out. He had a very large head and short, stumpy limbs. His body appeared to be covered in thick, scaly skin like a crocodile's.  
  
"Good day to you sir, Uta Dravel's the name, can I be of assistance in the purchase of one of our fine vehicles?"  
  
"Hell" thought John, "it's the unchartered's version of a used car salesman!"  
  
"May be. I'm looking for something small and reasonably fast" said John, knowing that the little greaseball would show him the Prowler. It was the only thing in the yard that was whole and met that description.  
  
"Well I think I have just the thing for you. Just in and I must say a superb buy. Ex-Peacekeeper surplus but that shouldn't bother a gentleman like you" he said looking up and down John's leather clad appearance. "You're not attached to the Peacekeepers are you?" he added somewhat anxiously  
  
"And if I was?" threatened John  
  
"I bought that Prowler fair and square off a Peacekeeper captain no less"  
  
"Relax, buddy. I'm not with the Peacekeeper fraud squad, but I will take a look at that Prowler"  
  
As they walked across to the ship Dravel kept up the salesman's patter. "I think you'll find she's a beauty sir. Seen some action mind you, but that just adds to the kudos, don't it? I've only had her in two solar days. You're the first person to view her but I've had some very interested nibbles from a big dealer on Hestaf 6 who's coming to see her in a few arns"  
  
John climbed into the Prowler. There was nothing inside to identify it but he knew it was Aeryn's. He had recognised the big gouge along the side that it had gotten during that encounter with the bounty hunter. He sat in the pilot's seat and while pretending to look at the controls, felt all around the compartment. Just by the seat his fingers brushed against something. He brought them up for a closer look; drying blood.  
  
Jumping down next to the salesman he said "there's blood on the floor and it's not that old. Where exactly did you get this ship from?"  
  
"I told you, I bought it from a Peacekeeper captain 2 days ago. Anything that happened before then is none of my business"  
  
John put his arm around the man in friendly but compelling fashion. "Well buddy, I'm very interested in the Prowler but you're going to have to tell me everything about the encounter with the Peacekeepers first. You got anything to drink in that shack of yours because we may be sometime?"  
  
Two arns later Crichton flew the Prowler off the planet having learned more than he'd hoped for when he landed. Dravel hadn't seen Aeryn but the peacekeepers he described were definitely special ops. They had arrived in a Marauder with the Prowler in tow. There wasn't room for it on board and they didn't want it to slow them down so they had sold it. Dravel had also heard them talking about High command. John was pretty convinced that they were taking Aeryn back to stand trial  
  
  
  
Chapter 4  
  
John was getting closer and closer to Peacekeeper territory but funnily enough the closer he got, the safer he felt. No one had seen him here, no one expected to see him here. It was hardly likely that the Peacekeeper's public enemy number one would walk into their back yard. The irony of it just made him laugh.  
  
The trail of the special ops crew and their Marauder was now pretty cold, but he had picked up enough information along the way to convince him that the retrieval squad was heading back to Peacekeeper territory. All that remained was to come up with a reasonable plan. Part one was to be well armed! He entered the building he had been told belonged to the local arms dealer. It looked like a laundry. The person behind the desk smiled at him welcomingly.  
  
"Are you here to deposit or collect, sir?"  
  
"Neither" replied Crichton "Yeldo recommended this place to me"  
  
"Ah" said the man, still smiling broadly "through the back sir and ring the bell"  
  
John did as the man told him. A door slid open revealing a room containing just two of the biggest aliens John had ever seen. They made D'Argo seem small. "Up against the wall and spread'em" growled the one on the left  
  
"Oh my God, I've walked into Kojak," thought John.  
  
After a brisk search during which they removed Winona, gave her a good look then put her back, John was shown into the inner sanctum. In contrast to his guards, the alien presiding over it was tiny and looked a bit like Rygel only red.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"Not too sure, mind if I look around and see what take's my fancy?"  
  
"Be my guest"  
  
John cast his eyes over the piles of weapons, from small pistols to large cannon like things. He decided to get a couple of large guns and a small rocket launcher. He also got some charges and a few grenades just in case - you never knew when they might come in handy.  
  
"Planning a small war are we?"  
  
"Something like that. More of a smash and grab job."  
  
He was just haggling with the red toad when his eye was caught by something. It looked like two pairs of occulars. "What's that?"  
  
"Oh a very interesting thing. I acquired it from a particularly sadistic but highly successful gentleman in the torture business"  
  
"His name wasn't Scorpius was it?" enquired John under his breath. The toad ignored him and carried on  
  
"Apparently it allows you to control someone's mind. You attach this sensor to the back of their neck, put this on, and voila, you can control their movements, speech, everything, even access their thoughts and memories"  
  
"That could definitely come in handy. I can think of a few people I'd like to control right over a very large cliff. OK, so how much if I throw that in as well?"  
  
After concluding their business Critchton had one last thought. "You know anyone who does great fake ids?" The alien just smiled at him. "I thought you would". 


	2. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
Kalif the barman looked down at the officer sat propping up his bar, nonchalantly sipping from a bottle of felip nectar. Archetypal special ops type; cool as they come, doesn't give a dren about anything or anyone. He saw them all the time in the Officer's bar in the Peacekeeper base on Mikar 7, as it was a favourite stopping off point on the way to High Command. This one was typical; his ident chip had identified him as Lieutenant Jaryd Darel. He was reasonably tall, well built. His once handsome face marred by a scar: a deep slash from ear to chin. He surveyed the room with a detached boredom that more than suggested that he had seen and done everything the universe had to offer.  
  
There were few other customers and Kalif, who was by nature a chatty sole, decided to risk a conversation. "On your way home?" he asked and got a bored "don't be so frelling nosy " look for his pains.  
  
"Does this place have anything in the way of entertainment to offer? It seems very quiet," the officer asked.  
  
"Yeah, well you missed all the fun by about 10 arns," replied Kalif, only to happy to talk. "We had a real Commandant here! Phrr, what a woman! Wouldn't argue with her though. She found some officer in here and gave him what for good and proper. Had him clapped up in detention and stormed off back to her ship. I reckon everyone thought it would be a good thing to get out of here after that."  
  
"You should keep your mouth shut, barman. Talking about Peacekeeper commandants in that fashion is likely to get you arrested or worse" Lieutenant Darel replied in a quiet, icy voice.  
  
"Yes, sir" came the mumbled reply and Kalif applied himself to cleaning the bar.  
  
John Crichton was very pleased with himself. He had decided to try out his new Peacekeeper guise in this small backwater and it seemed to be working pretty well. His fake ident chip was almost better than the real thing. He was particularly pleased with the scar, which looked very real, even if it did itch like hell. He had also picked up some vital information. So, old Commandant Cleavage had been here. Did she have Aeryn? He decided to pay a visit to the detention facility to see if the poor unfortunate who had incurred her wroth could be induced to talk.  
  
  
  
He flashed his ident chip at the grunt on guard duty. "Lieutenant Darel, special ops. I've been sent by Commandant Grayza to interrogate the prisoner"  
  
"I didn't receive any orders"  
  
"Of course you didn't, imbecile, I'm giving them to you now" When the soldier looked belligerent, John forced his hand. "Are you going to refuse a command from a superior officer?" The grunt led him down the corridor to a far cell. The occupant was asleep. Crichton entered quietly, watched by the guard. He hauled the man up, bending his arm behind his back and holding his hand over his mouth so he couldn't speak. "Well, well, well, Lieutenant Braca, what have we been up to?" Braca stared wide-eyed at Crichton and started to struggle. John tightened his grip and dragged Braca out of the cell, passed the startled guard. "Where are you taking him, sir?"  
  
"What, you didn't think I was going to interrogate him here, did you? You haven't got any of the equipment needed for the job," and with that he marched out of the detention centre, dragging Braca with him. He only stopped when he reached the relative safety of what looked like a disused storage shed. He took his hand from Braca's mouth but tightened his grip on the struggling Lieutenant. "Hey, calm down Braca. I just busted you out of the clink. You should be thanking me, not giving me dren."  
  
"Thank you! You've got a nerve!  
  
"Hmm, yeah, well they're pretty tightly stretched at the moment, so how about you give me some answers 'cos Winona here is just dying to pay you back for all the times in the past when you've tried to kick my backside. Start with how you got here from the command carrier, move on to where is Scorpius and finish up with what's up with the great bosomed bitch!"  
  
"I won't tell you anything Crichton." John drew out Winona and placed her up against Braca's crotch.  
  
"That's your choice, but unless you start talking buddy, you're John Wayne Bobbit before you can say 'consummate Peacekeeper'!"  
  
"Alright, alright. I'm not with Scorpius. I'm heading back to High command to give a full account of what happened on the command carrier"  
  
"That should be interesting. Can I be a fly on the wall?"  
  
"After I've finished, Crichton, there won't be a metra of this universe you'll be safe in"  
  
"Gee, like that'll be new. So what happened to old leather face?"  
  
"I haven't seen him since shortly after we escaped from the command carrier. We landed on a nearby planet. I went to check it out. When I got back, our ship and Scorpius were gone. For all I know he may be dead."  
  
"I doubt I could be that lucky. So what gives with Grayza?" All the time they were talking, John held his pulse pistol against its delicate target.  
  
"She wants to know the same thing you do about Scorpius' whereabouts, but she also wants to know where you are. She wasn't very happy that I couldn't help her with either"  
  
"You been on her ship?"  
  
"No, but it seems she's set on hunting down you and the rest of your friends."  
  
"The rest?"  
  
"Don't think I don't know what you're doing here, Crichton. Grayza knows a retrieval squad has captured the renegade Aeryn Sun. She wants to build on that success by capturing you. I'm certainly going to be able to redeem myself by handing you over to her."  
  
"Don't get an big ideas," and with that John suddenly brought Winona up and hit Braca across the head, knocking him out. 


	3. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
  
  
When Braca regained consciousness his head was fuzzy and he had a pain in the back of his neck.  
  
"Ah, so you're awake. Let's see whether this thing is as good as that red frog said it was," said a voice in his ear. He tried to shake his head to clear it but couldn't seem to move. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light he saw Crichton sitting across from him wearing what appeared to be a pair of double oculars.  
  
"Now what would be a good test," Crichton's voice sounded in his ear but his mouth didn't move, except to spread into a wide grin at the sight of the lieutenant's confusion. Suddenly Braca's finger involuntarily stuck up his nostril with such force that his nose started to bleed. The sound of Crichton's laughter rang in his head.  
  
"Oops, sorry, haven't passed my test with this thing yet. Oh man, this is just the best toy! Not quite as good as the Halosian gun when I got to play inside Aeryn's body, but definitely better than Traltixx' disappearing device or that the truth detecting lobster." John got up and walked over to Braca, hauling him to his feet. "Come on lieutenant, you and I are gonna have so much fun together!" Braca looked at him in bewilderment.  
  
"You don't know what's going on do you? Well, I've put a sensor in the back of your neck that connects to these," he pointed at the strange oculars. "So I'm now in control of you Braca. You can't speak, move or think unless I will you to do it. It'll be just like your relationship with Scorpy, except I won't be giving the orders from the outside, I'll be inside your head." He stood nose-to-nose with Braca, "now you'll know what it's like to have a madman in your head twenty four-seven. I've put up with it for almost a cycle and believe me it can really piss you off." He clapped Braca on the back, "but hey, look on the bright side, I have a ruthless, sadistic bastard in my head, you've just got a slightly crazy astronaut with a wormhole fixation in yours!"  
  
He propelled Braca in front of him. "Now let's find you're ship." John thought for a moment, "Marauder, landing bay 17. Great, just what we need for a little visit to High command. Got any beer on board?"  
  
  
  
Crichton was having fun. Everything had gone smoothly at the spaceport , Grayza's ship had already left orbit and they had taken off without incident. The Marauder was pre-programmed on a course for high command. He could sit back and let the auto pilot do the work, which was a good thing as the mind-controlling device required a lot of concentration. Braca was sitting in the co-pilots chair staring out at space.  
  
"Sorry I haven't been giving you much to do but thinking for two people at the same time is quite a challenge for a guy; multi-tasking is not usually one of our strong points." He smiled at Braca whose face responded with a strange goofy grin that made him look like something from a fifties zombie B movie.  
  
"God, Braca, you have to get a life, man. I've been inside your head for at least 6 arns and there is nothing in here except crap about being a good Peacekeeper and getting promotion up the ranks. You cannot be normal, even for a sebaccean. I mean guys are supposed to think about sex once every six minutes and I haven't even picked up a thought of lace panties or even a leather-clad thigh." He suddenly stopped and stared intently at the Peacekeeper then moved with lightening speed across the ship to grip him by the throat. "Don't you even think about her. Aeryn is strictly off- limits. Yes, I agree that she is about the most beautiful thing in the universe, but keep your thoughts off her." He let Braca go and moved back to his own chair. "Anyway, I'm surprised that you would even think about recreating with a known criminal. The commandant would be much more up your street. A far likelier route for sleeping your way to a promotion." The stricken lieutenant almost snarled in frustration and Crichton knew he had hit a nerve. "Ah women, Braca, don't understand 'em, can't live without 'em!" With that he closed his eyes and they both went to sleep.  
  
  
  
The Marauder quickly ate up the distance to the Peacekeeper's home planet. As they came closer to the headquarters the security checks became more and more frequent. Crichton soon realised that without Braca, with his orders to report to high command, he would not have even made it into this star system.  
  
Finally the planet came up on the sensors. This was a whole planet devoted to the military command of the Peacekeepers. It was the size of Jupiter and covered almost entirely with military installations, from vast landing areas big enough to take several command carriers to huge administration buildings. As they flew over it Crichton experienced a myriad of emotions; from awe at the sheer might of the Peacekeeper's military capability to almost paralysing fear at what he was about to do.  
  
They cleared the final security check and came in to land. There was no going back now. 


	4. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
  
  
  
"I really can't recommend this course of action, John." Harvey sat down in front of Crichton, who was struggling into some Peacekeeper armour. He was wearing a jailbird's outfit complete with arrows and serial number.  
  
"Not now, Harv, I'm busy. Anyway, the warning is a bit late. I've just landed in the middle of Peacekeeper high command."  
  
"You must be out of your mind, John"  
  
"Out of my mind; in someone else's! Talk about paranoid schizophrenia. I'm not in two minds; I'm in three! Now leave me alone Harvey while I finish putting on this frelling uniform." Crichton had decided that his best bet was to play Braca's commando guard. That way he could wear a helmet to conceal the mind-controlling oculars without arousing suspicion.  
  
They had landed in a vast hanger. Hundreds of ships were lined up; Marauders, Prowlers and others that John didn't recognise, all parked in precise rows. Techs scurried about carrying out maintenance and refuelling. Braca and John left the ship and climbed onto the nearest of the many moving walkways that criss-crossed the hanger. It took them to the entrance to the main complex.  
  
"Lieutenant Braca. I'm expected at a special council meeting." The security officer on duty scanned Braca's ident chip and also took a DNA scan.  
  
"Confirmed Lieutenant. You are to report in 4 arns to room Delta Gamma 12 in quadrant Selca of the main council building." Braca gave the officer a curt nod and moved away. John's plan was to just follow him; he only had his special ops ident chip and that wouldn't pass muster in his current guise. He was hoping that after all the elaborate security checks to actually get to the high command planet, no one would think to check a mere guard.  
  
"Officer" he was obviously wrong. The plan was failing before it had really started.  
  
"Sir" replied John in his best PK accent.  
  
"I need the entrance code of your ship so that the techs can carry out the service checks"  
  
"Of course" John almost sighed with relief as he gave the code quickly and raced after Braca. Maybe his plan wasn't so bad after all!  
  
They marched through endless corridors and interconnecting buildings. Braca's memory only contained vague remembrances of this planet, but fortunately it did allow John to read the sebacean direction signs. After what seemed like miles they came to a vast open atrium covered with a glass roof. It stretched as far as John could see in both directions. He reckoned it could house four or five football pitches inside and the roof was about high enough to cover the Empire State building. The distinctive black and red flags of the Peacekeepers were hung all around. From Braca he learned that this was the Hall of Victory. It would certainly be a suitable setting for military parades and medal ceremonies to celebrate the many conquests of the Peacekeepers; displays of strength to imbue the massed ranks with enthusiasm for the cause. The hall was filled with every type of Peacekeeper he had ever seen and many that he hadn't. They were the politicians, diplomats and military leaders. Vast numbers of soldiers marched to and fro. They had to stop so often to salute senior commanders that Crichton wandered if they ever got where they were supposed to be going or whether their sole purpose was to provide a display and massage the egos of the hierarchy.  
  
"I'm standing at the very heart of the Peacekeeper regime," thought John, almost overawed by the sheer scale of this operation. Nothing on earth came close to this; not the Pentagon or those huge military parades they used to hold in Moscow in the days of the cold war. He knew without doubt that if the Peacekeepers were ever to find Earth they could take it over or destroy the planet without even breaking into a sweat. He also knew that this rescue attempt was foolhardy beyond words. His love for Aeryn had blinded him to the massive danger he had placed himself in; perhaps she was right about emotions and soldiers in battle not mixing. If, by attempting to rescue Aeryn, he put himself in the hands of the Peacekeepers he knew now, more than ever that they must never get wormhole technology. But at least he also now knew that he had not come in vain. His worst fear had been to reach high command and find her not here or, worse, already dead. He now knew that he still had some time to effect her rescue, because all around the Hall of Victory were signs advertising the fact that the traitor Aeryn Sun would be executed by firing squad in this very building in less than 20 arns. He broke out of his reverie and came back to the task at hand. As casually as possible, blending in with the crowd, he carefully made a tour of the atrium, assessing the exits and options for escape; it wasn't encouraging. Hopefully this wouldn't be an issue if everything went according to plan.  
  
They headed for the high security detention wing. At the sophisticated electronic entrance, Braca's DNA was again scanned and this time there was a retinal scan as well. Crichton couldn't believe it when he just followed the Lieutenant through the door and was forever thankful that high command obviously considered him as some sort of extension or accessory to his commander. Two guards sat at the elaborate main console. John was thankful that the high level of surveillance equipment obviated the need for a larger force.  
  
"I have special orders to interrogate Aeryn Sun," Crichton forced Braca to say to one of the guards.  
  
"It's down the corridor, termination level, I'll show you" said the guard. As they walked he kept up a running commentary. "We're looking forward to tomorrow. Hasn't been such a good execution to watch since Commandant Nelka was done for that plot against Admiral Benta. We've all been given time off to go and watch. Personally, I think that a firing squad's too good for her. Only high ranking traitors usually get that. She should be made to suffer the living death like the other scum, but I suppose it makes a good show. Did you get to see the trial? Had it live on the internal comms network. Took almost half an arn to read out the list of charges." He laughed maliciously "She just stood there with this defiant look on her face. It's a pity that John Crichton's dead or we could have done them together."  
  
"Crichton's dead?" John was prompted by surprise into asking.  
  
"Yeah, had her in the aurora chair didn't they. Couldn't break her completely but saw memories of Crichton dying. Disgusting trelk was frelling his brains out as well. Can you imagine it? She's a disgrace to everything the Peacekeepers stand for."  
  
They had by this time reached the cell where Aeryn was being held. Crichton was physically shaking with the need to restrain himself from punching the soldier's teeth down his throat. The sight that greeted him when they opened the cell door didn't improve his feelings.  
  
There was a single narrow cot on which a body lay. It was almost unrecognisable from the Aeryn he knew. The usual neat, glossy hair was tangled and dirty. Her face was swollen and bruised. She had two black eyes and her lip was split. Dried blood was caked on her face, neck and hair. Her left arm hung at a strange angle and was obviously broken.  
  
"What has happened to this prisoner?" Crichton had to force himself to keep the anger out of Braca's voice.  
  
"Oh, its nothing to worry about, Lieutenant. Very popular she's been. All her comrades from her old unit wanted to welcome her back." He said with a nasty grin. "We've just let them have a little fun. Besides she was so spaced out from the aurora chair she didn't seem to care."  
  
"I wouldn't give you the pleasure, Shelak" said a quiet voice "What brings you here, Braca? Come to gloat as well?" Aeryn's eyes could barely open but she could clearly see who was in the room.  
  
"No, Sun, I want to get some answers about the whereabouts of the escaped prisoners and the Leviathan, Moya"  
  
"I've already been through this in the chair, Braca"  
  
"Commandant Grayza has some sophisticated new equipment on her ship we'd like to try out on you. After that you'll be begging to be allowed back in the chair like that madman Stark used to."  
  
"So you've switched allegiance, eh Braca? What happened to Scorpius? Or has the commandant offered a better deal?"  
  
"That's enough, now stand to attention soldier." Aeryn painfully rose from the bed. Crichton could tell she was very badly injured and in extreme pain but doing her best not to show it. In addition to her broken arm, she also had an injury to her right leg. She bit her lip, took a deep breath and stood up to her full height, her eyes meeting Braca's gaze with defiance.  
  
"Right, guard, shackle her hands," Braca ordered the soldier  
  
"Where are you taking her, Sir?"  
  
"As I said, the commandant wants to have a further chance to interrogate her personally. She knows vital information. Don't worry, we'll return her here in 6 arns ready for tomorrows 'festivities'"  
  
"This is highly irregular, Sir. There's been no notification from the council"  
  
"Yes, well, the commandant's ship has only just arrived and she hasn't had time to inform the council about all she has learned about the events in the uncharted territories. She sent me ahead to collect officer Sun because she wants the maximum time before the execution to interrogate her. I'll send through the authorisations as soon as I'm back on board"  
  
This was the moment of truth. Crichton's ingenuity in coming up with reasons why Braca should take Aeryn out of the detention wing was beginning to fail him. If the guard didn't go for it, Crichton was going to have to think of some other way to get rid of him as quietly and quickly as possible, at the same time avoiding the detection of the surveillance equipment inside the cell.  
  
"I'll just have to make a few checks first, sir" He wasn't playing ball  
  
"That's perfectly alright officer. I'm sure that you'll find everything is in order. Shall we go outside a moment and discuss it?" Braca led the guard out into the corridor then brought his pulse pistol down on the man's skull. He then put the gun against his back and fired at point blank range, the clothing muffling the sound.  
  
"What the frell?" Aeryn was clearly confused. John didn't want to reveal himself to her just yet so he decided on the guise that Braca was somehow rescuing her. He deliberately stood out of view of the camera and put his fingers to his lips indicating her silence.  
  
"I'm glad you agree officer," said Braca loudly from the corridor, "Soldier, bring her out." Crichton pushed Aeryn out of the door into the dark corridor.  
  
"Quick Aeryn, put on his uniform," said Braca in a whisper  
  
"Braca, have you gone completely farbot? What are you doing?"  
  
"Attempting to stop you getting killed so stop arguing and put on that uniform."  
  
"I don't pretend to understand why you are doing this Braca, but if this is some elaborate plot of Scorpius' or Grayza's to get at John and wormhole knowledge you're wasting your time. I won't tell you any more than I've told them"  
  
"Just get a move on Aeryn, it won't be long before the other guard comes to check on us."  
  
  
  
"Hey, can you come and give us a hand with her?" John shouted down the corridor at the other guard. He lumbered down towards them and was quickly dispatched the way of his colleague. Thank God they didn't think it necessary to have surveillance equipment in the corridors. John and Braca put the undressed dead guard in Aeryn's bed, covering him with a blanket to make it look as much like her as possible. The other guard they propped up in his seat at the console. They hoped that if there were a higher level of surveillance this would at least fool them for a while. They made it out of the detention area without further incident.  
  
"I still don't understand why you're doing this Braca," said Aeryn as she limped along behind him as quickly as she could, "and who's this?" she eyed John warily.  
  
"He's with us. I can't explain now Aeryn, just keep your head down so no one recognises you"  
  
As they walked on it was obvious that Aeryn was struggling. John could hear her gasping for breath and wincing with almost every step. After what seemed like an age they came to the hall of Victory.  
  
"I have to stop for a bit, Braca" Aeryn gasped, leaning heavily against the wall  
  
"We can't stop now Aeryn. You can rest all you like when we get to the ship"  
  
"Alright," with an effort she straightened up and carried on. As they walked across the hall a large important party were coming the other way. Soldiers stopped to salute. The sea of people in front of them parted. Fifty yards away, coming directly towards them and surrounded by various officials and a dozen commando guards were commandant Grayza and Scorpius.  
  
"Oh hell" was John's only comment. 


	5. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
  
John thought through their options quickly. He knew the game with Braca was up but he needed a little time to get away from Scorpius and Grayza.  
  
"Harvey, if you love me and you want to stay alive, I suggest that you mask my energy signature from Scorpius now!" Harvey appeared beside John, still wearing his Jailbird's outfit.  
  
"Having ignored my warning, you now want my help, John?" he sighed  
  
"Do you want to live or not?"  
  
"Point taken. I will endeavour to shield you from Scorpius but I cannot guarantee success."  
  
John pulled Aeryn back into the crowd and headed as quickly as possible towards the side of the hall. Their way was hampered by the crowds of Peacekeepers stopping to gaze at the large, important party, and the fact that Aeryn could now hardly walk. She leaned heavily on John.  
  
Scorpius and Grayza had reached Braca. The lieutenant was standing motionless in the middle of the hall, but Critchon could still hear the conversation.  
  
"Lieutenant Braca, I'm so glad that we've met you on your way to report to the council, now we can all appear together," said Scorpius with a slightly malicious curl of his lips that could be mistaken by those who did not know him as a smile. The Lieutenant was very familiar with this 'smile' and knew that he would have to answer to his erstwhile commander when Scorpius found out what had happened.  
  
"Before that, however, I would like to know how you escaped custody on Mikar 7 and who was the mysterious officer who helped you," interposed Grayza. She went right up to him and stared into his face. "Braca, why won't you answer me?" she barked. Braca just stared wide-eyed. Meanwhile Scorpius walked around him, observing them closely. He suddenly reached up a hand to the back of Braca's neck and pulled out the sensor from where it was partly concealed by his uniform. "Interesting," he said as he examined it.  
  
John felt the loss of Braca's mind immediately and knew that he had to get out of the hall quickly. It was only a short matter of time before Scorpy would put two and two together and make about twelve. He started to make his way more forcibly towards the exit, practically dragging Aeryn with him. At that moment klaxons sounded and a loud voice resonated across the hall "Attention. Prisoner escape. All exits being sealed." People started to look around and some started to run towards the doors. Crichton picked up the flagging Aeryn and ran towards the nearest exit; they didn't quite make it before a solid metal sealing door came down, blocking their way.  
  
"Time for plan D," muttered John. He brought out a small device from his pocket and pressed the button in the middle of it. A loud explosion was heard from the far side of the hall. It set off a chain of events that seemed to happen in slow motion. The explosion buckled one of the huge metal columns holding the glass roof. As it buckled the glass panels began to crack and splinter. One suddenly shattered, beginning a domino effect across the roof. Glass began to rain down on the people as everyone dived for cover. Under the cover of the commotion, John shot the controls of the nearest exit and carried Aeryn through as the door rose.  
  
Two thirds of the roof had come down before the glass shower stopped. Scorpius stood up, miraculously unscathed. Grayza was slowly rising next to him. She had a nasty slash across her cheek but was otherwise unharmed. Others were not so lucky. The victory hall of the Peacekeepers had been shattered. People lay trapped beneath sheets of glass as others crawled, bleeding, from their crouched positions. The proud black and red flags dangled from the remains of the ceiling, shredded and damaged.  
  
"Crichton!" said Scorpius through gritted teeth.  
  
"Oh no, it couldn't John Crichton," said one of the incredulous officials "He's dead."  
  
"He's not dead," replied Scorpius dismissively "He's here, for Aeryn Sun, if I'm not mistaken. I want him found and I want him alive." 


	6. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
  
John took refuge in a side room off the corridor into which they had escaped. He sat Aeryn gently down against the wall.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked weakly. John took off his helmet and the now useless oculars.  
  
"Hello Princess, I'm Luke Skywalker and I'm here to rescue you!"  
  
"Crichton, what the frell are you doing here?"  
  
"Nice to see you too Aeryn." He replied, angrily. He paused for a moment and then began again, in a calmer voice. "I couldn't just let them take you, Aeryn. If it wasn't for me you would have still been happily parading up and down that hall like the good little Peacekeeper you were," he said quietly, a wistful look of longing in his eyes at he gazed her, despite her current appearance.  
  
"I've been doing my best to convince them that you're dead so they will leave you alone and you just walk in here." She sounded wearily resigned to her plan failing.  
  
"Yeah, I know. Reports of my death are an exaggeration! How did you manage that?"  
  
"When I was in the aurora chair I let them see memories of the other John, but blocked all the recent memories of you." John was heartened that she referred to the "other John" and not just "John". Perhaps she was finally coming to terms with the fact that he was just as much John Crichton as the man who had died. He decided to press his luck a little further.  
  
"Why would you want to do that?" he asked quietly  
  
"You're not the only one who can sacrifice yourself in a good cause. I thought that if they believed you were dead then you and the wormhole knowledge would be safe. Frell, it was hard though. I now know what you went through in that chair with Scorpius. I can't believe you've ruined all my good work by having the audacity to come to Peacekeeper high command itself."  
  
"Don't think they'll be inviting me back anytime soon do you?"  
  
"You just blew up the Hall of Victory. Is there any Peacekeeper establishment you've visited that you haven't destroyed?" she joked with a painful laugh  
  
"I didn't really destroy this one. Just damaged it a bit to create a diversion. I didn't think that roof would be so fragile. Crichton strikes again, hundreds injured and dead" he said, his voice holding a hint of self- loathing.  
  
"How did you lay the explosives"  
  
"Braca and I did a little reconnoitre earlier. On the way here I got these great minuscule high explosive charges from an arms dealer who looked like a red version of Rygel, and I thought I would lay a couple just in case."  
  
"I can't believe that Braca was helping you"  
  
"Oh, he wasn't doing it voluntarily. I was making him do it with these" he held up the discarded oculars. "Another handy toy from the red frog."  
  
Aeryn gasped in pain as she tried to move her leg. She had a cut on her arm that was bleeding profusely. "Anyway we have to get you out of here" said John, with a worried frown. He had no idea how to accomplish their escape.  
  
"What's your plan?" she asked  
  
"Well we had already reached plan D when I let off the charges. I hadn't gotten around to plan E. I was hoping we could make it back to the marauder that Braca and I arrived in."  
  
"All the exits will be sealed. They won't be allowing any ships to take off without high level sanction. If we did manage to get away they'd shoot us out of the sky in microts."  
  
"Yeah, I figured that. God, we could do with a friend like Gilina right at this moment to re-programme the targeting system." They were both silent in thought for a moment.  
  
"What will they do with casualties from the hall?" asked John  
  
"Take them to the medical centres" replied Aeryn with a shrug  
  
"Where are they? Are they all easily accessible from here?"  
  
"I don't remember. I've only been here once or twice before."  
  
"I have an idea. It's a bit of a long shot but we might be able to pull it off"  
  
"Why does that make me feel nervous?"  
  
"Trust me darlin', you know my plans always work!"  
  
"I can't believe you just said that."  
  
"Come on, Aeryn, its time we got you out of here and back where you belong on Moya." He smiled down at her as he wiped blood from the cut on her arm onto her face and his hands. He gently picked her up in his arms, noticing, despite the seriousness of their situation, how thin she had become in the short time she had been in Peacekeeper custody. She had always been slim, but strong. Now she felt like a feather in his arms. She didn't even protest at being carried. She knew that she would only hold them up if she tried to walk.  
  
John ducked his head out of the door. People were running about in all directions shouting orders and carrying wounded comrades. John joined the throng. Holding Aeryn close he headed back in the direction he thought lead to the landing bay. 


	7. Chapter 10

Author's note: Thanks to everyone who has provided feedback on this story - I have been encouraged to carry on! Although I started this story long before BHTB, the parallels with the current story line in season 4, with Aeryn being captured and Crichton trying to rescue her, have not gone unnoted. I'm therefore going to do my best to get it finished PDQ (work commitments permitting), before that season 4 story line reaches its climax (mainly because I wouldn't want to presume to compete with the real thing!)  
Chapter 10  
  
They reached the landing area without incident. Sure enough, casualties were being loaded onto ships for transport to medical facilities around the planet. John chose a relatively small ship that "walking wounded" were climbing onto. On boarding he quickly found a small compartment at the back of the ship and gently placed Aeryn inside. Although her face was covered in blood, he couldn't take the risk of someone recognising the now infamous traitor. She was barely conscious. He knew that she needed medical treatment but he couldn't risk getting her treated on the High Command planet; they needed to get off as quickly as possible if they were to have any chance of avoiding recapture.  
  
"Shhh, baby, just stay here and keep quiet till I come and get you"  
  
"Stay here, yes John" she murmured. He had no idea if she knew it was him or whether she was in another world with the other him.  
  
John went through into the main command area of the ship. He decided that boldness was his best option, so walked right up and sat down in the empty pilot's seat and started flicking switches like he knew what he was doing.  
  
"You the pilot?" said the man sitting in the co-pilot's seat holding a cloth to a nasty gash across his forehead. He also had a makeshift bandage around his upper arm.  
  
"Sure am. Now lets get these people out of here to the nearest medical unit." Fortunately the controls of this ship seemed to be similar to the marauder so he hoped he would pass as a reasonable pilot. He flicked what he hoped was the comms switch. "Uhh, this is emergency medical transport 911 requesting clearance for take off." The comms crackled for a few moments; John held his breath.  
  
"Clearance request acknowledged 911, what is the number and status of your casualties?" John looked around and did a quick count. "I've got about twelve, mainly walking wounded. Doesn't look like any serious cases"  
  
"Acknowledged. Please proceed to Medical Centre Galdos. You are clear for take off"  
  
"You know where that is?" John asked the man he had spoken with previously. "I'd only just arrived when they commandeered me to fly this thing. Didn't give me any charts or a chance to familiarise myself with the planet and I haven't been here before"  
  
"Yeah, it's on the far side of the planet. Go due eastwards and head towards the highest blue tower you see"  
  
John adjusted the controls and headed in an easterly direction. The trip was fairly short but with each groan or cry of pain from his passengers he felt more and more guilty. All of this for the preservation of one life, no matter how precious that life was to him. He mentally questioned the ethics of his actions; no matter how the Peacekeepers overall deserved everything they got for the way they treated people, here, surrounded by individual people he had effectively personally hurt and maimed, he felt that he had reached their level and descended far below it. He had to remind himself that if their positions were reversed, Peacekeepers such as Grayza and Scorpius, or even Braca, wouldn't think twice about mass death and destruction in pursuit of their goals.  
  
They landed on the roof of the medical centre where there were plenty of people on hand to help unload the casualties.  
  
"I'm heading back for another load" John told them when they were finished. He went back inside and immediately got Aeryn out from her hiding place and laid her on one of the bunks in command.  
  
"This is emergency transport 911. Drop off at Galdos complete. Requesting clearance to return to base"  
  
"Clearance granted and hurry up will you" replied a harassed sounding voice.  
  
"On my way." John quelled the feeling of guilt at not helping out further with the casualties, but this was his and Aeryn's only hope. He took off, but instead of heading back in the direction he had come, he headed out towards space. As they exited the planet's atmosphere into space he was congratulating himself on the success of their escape. It had all been so easy. Plan E was definitely a good one. "Thank God we didn't have to get to the F plan without Rygel here!" John was just joking with himself when things started to get difficult again.  
  
"911, you are off course"  
  
"I knew it was too good to be true" muttered John to himself. "Ahh, yeah, got a slight malfunction. Just giving her a longer run to iron it out" John decided to turn off the comms before he turned into an inveterate liar; his nose should be the size of Pinocchio's! He put the ship into top speed and looked out of the view port, just in time to see an enormous command carrier glide into view.  
  
"Oh, hell, just when I thought we had made it"  
  
"We have you on our screens. Identify yourself." When John gave no reply the disembodied voice of the person on the carrier said with more force "Stand down and our docking web will retrieve you in 15 microts." John decided that the old tricks were the best and turned the ship into a dive towards the planet's atmosphere again. His old theory about gravitational pull had saved them from a command carrier once; it could do it again. The only problem was that this ship wasn't Moya. Its top speed seemed to be about Hetch 6. He slammed on the acceleration as far as it would go and it slowly rose to Hetch 8. He felt the gravitational pull and then they were in the sling shot manoeuvre. The ship shot away from the planet, leaving the carrier in their wake. 


	8. Chapter 11

Chapter 11  
  
Having escaped the immediate threat of the command carrier, John didn't dare slow down. A quick look at the scanner before they had shot away from the planet confirmed that a number of Prowlers had been launched from the carrier and were coming in pursuit. He had a very good head start on them but if they did catch up with him they were faster and more manoeuvrable than his transport ship. He also knew that they had extremely powerful weapons as he'd seen what Aeryn's Prowler could do. He wouldn't win against them in a straight race or a fight in space. He wanted to put as much distance between them and High Command as possible. After a couple of arns flying at top speed he was aware that the ship was almost out of fuel. He went to check on Aeryn. She was unconscious and ice cold. He remembered that she had been like that when Larraq had pierced her paraphoral nerve. He knew it was time to find somewhere to land with a good sized spaceport and a medical facility. On the scanner there was a series of planets coming up. They were all listed as inhabited. He landed on the farthest of the four planets, hoping that their pursuers would spend time checking the others first.  
  
They had landed near a reasonable sized settlement. He stopped the first person he saw. They may recognise him if the Peacekeepers came but it couldn't be helped.  
  
"My comrade is injured. Do you have medical facilities here?" He followed the directions he was given and entered the small medical centre, carrying the unconscious Aeryn. Time to use the Peacekeeper guise again. "My commander has vital information. I must get her back to High Command as soon as possible, but she's wounded and I don't think she'll make it. I need you to treat her now!"  
  
"Let's have a look." The doctor poked and prodded Aeryn for what seemed like an age. "Umm, nasty; broken arm, torn ligaments in her leg, a couple of broken ribs and, if I'm not mistaken, internal bleeding. It looks like she's been severely beaten, but these wounds are from some days ago. Why didn't you get treatment before?"  
  
"You know that I can't give you any details and it would be better for you if I didn't. Lets just say that she got the dren beaten out of her by some people that you wouldn't want to know. She seemed alright at first, I mean she was fully conscious until a couple of arns ago, but then she started to get worse and worse.  
  
"Hmm, well she will require surgery, but I don't have the necessary team here. She'll have to go to Mandon"  
  
"How far is that" replied John with concern; the pursuing Peacekeepers could arrive at any time.  
  
"It's the next planet"  
  
"Please, we have to get back. It's vital. Can't you just patch her up enough to get back to High Command alive? They'll fix everything else." John knew he was taking a risk with Aeryn's life, but he figured that it would be better for her to die of her injuries as a free woman than return to Peacekeeper custody and execution. The doctor reluctantly agreed and got to work. It was over an arn later before he beckoned John back into the room. Aeryn lay asleep on the operating table. The doctor started telling him what he had done but all John could do was stare at her too pale face, marred as it was by the vivid bruises.  
  
"..and the internal bleeding was quite extensive; that's what took the time. Oh, and I had to remove her IC but that shouldn't be a problem for the time being. High Command can sort everything out when you get back"  
  
"Thanks Doc, you've done a great job. I'm gonna go and get our ship and take her off you hands"  
  
"You shouldn't move her yet, it would be most dangerous" exclaimed the doctor  
  
"I know Doc, but I don't have any choice. I will be court marshalled if I don't get her back as quickly as possible." More glib lies  
  
John left in search of a new ship. He knew that he needed to change from the old one, which was out of fuel and would also be easy for the Peacekeepers to track. At the spaceport he found what he wanted; a small unobtrusive transport vehicle left unattended and unlocked.  
  
"Now I'm a car thief as well. Oh well, just add it to the list with all the other crimes," he thought as he powered up the ship and flew it down to the medical centre. He carried Aeryn in, thanked the doctor again and took off. As he did, he saw ship lights landing in the area where he had left the other ship. It would be only a matter of time before they would be coming after them again. 


	9. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
  
The sound of the Peacekeeper scan resonated throughout the small ship. The scans had started about an arn ago and so far they seemed to be coming back every quarter arn.  
  
They had taken refuge on a small ice planet a couple of arns ago as the pursuing Peacekeepers got closer. Crichton had decided that the only way to lose them was to lay low for a while. He had picked this spot because he hoped that the tall overhanging forest would mask any signal from the ship. The planet was also very sparsely populated, with what he wasn't sure; judging by the occasional rustlings and howling that came from outside. The only real down side seemed to be that it was about twenty below. Not taking any chances, he had powered down all the systems, especially anything that generated heat. Consequently he was sitting, listening to the Peacekeeper scan, freezing his butt off. With the scans coming back so regularly there was nothing for it but to bed down for the duration.  
  
He had laid their only blanket over Aeryn. She was conscious now, but not very talkative, probably still in pain but more comfortable now her various injuries had been treated. Crichton himself had put on a couple of extra jackets he had found in the back of the ship. He sat quietly in the corner listening to the interminable booming from the scan and watching Aeryn. The bruises on her face had now faded from purple to yellow, and she could at least open her eyes more now. John realised that they were looking at him.  
  
"Crichton don't be a drannit. Come over here and share this cover" she whispered  
  
"I'm fine, really" he said, blowing on his hands  
  
"No you're not. It's, what did you call it? colder than a frob sass"  
  
"Frog's arse. Look, there's really not room on that bunk for two." She just gave him a look. He came over and stared down at her.  
  
"I wasn't sure that you'd want me that..close. We've not exactly been on kissing terms since, well you know," he said quietly  
  
"I know, John, but the only way we're going to survive this cold is by sharing what body heat we have left." He climbed into the bunk next to her and lay flat under the cover, doing his best not to touch her.  
  
"Come on John, if we're going to share body heat, you're going to have to get closer. I won't bite, I don't think I can" she tried to joke. "I trust you completely John. Besides I'm not exactly looking like your dream girl at the moment.  
  
John turned and gently put his arms around her, careful to avoid her injuries. "You'll always be my dream girl, Aeryn. No matter what you look like or what you think of me." She looked at him solemnly. Her eyes were bright with tears but she stayed silent. They lay there not talking, hardly moving until eventually the scan passed.  
  
"I'm sorry, John" Aeryn whispered  
  
"For what?" he asked, pleased that she seemed comfortable calling him John again.  
  
"For the way I've treated you since I came back from Talyn. I had a lot of time to think when I was in custody. Funny how certain death clarifies the mind." She paused, as if gathering her thoughts. "Do you remember when we were stuck in the Flax and you said that humans believed that when you died you went to a place where all your friends and relations who had died before already were? Well you would have thought that I would have welcomed death to be with him, the other John, again. But I didn't. I just kept thinking about you, how you must be felt when I treated you so coldly. I found that, when I thought my death was inevitable, I wanted to stay alive for the chance to tell you how I really feel."  
  
"How is that Aeryn?"  
  
"I know that you're not just the copy. You were both the man I fell in love with what seems like cycles ago. You don't have the experiences from those few short monens on Talyn, which will always be precious to me, but you're still John Crichton: still incomprehensible most of the time, still always coming up with terrible plans with almost unfailing optimism for their successful outcome, still doing reckless things to help those you love. Still loyal, trusting and loving." She reached up with her good hand and caressed his cheek. "I suppose that's just a long winded way of saying that I realised in that cell that I love you. That's why I tried to protect you when I was in the chair." John drew an unsteady breath.  
  
"You don't know what that means to me, Aeryn, hearing you say that. I love you too"  
  
"I know, but John, just as my body is bruised and battered, so are my heart and mind. They will take a while to heal. I'm still not sure that I have the emotional strength to give you what you want."  
  
"Then we'll take it real slow, but I'll be there, babe, I'll always be there" He reached over and gently kissed her, trying to avoid her split lip. As the kiss deepened she moaned a little.  
  
"Was that from pleasure or pain?" he asked  
  
"A bit of both" she replied with a cross between a smile and a grimace. He pulled her more closely against him and kissed her hair. They drifted off into a companionable sleep as the resonating scan began again 


	10. Chapter 13

Chapter 13  
  
"Can't we just go to a commerce planet nearby, Pilot? You can keep a look out for Crichton on the long range scans. I really need to get some things" Jool whined to Pilot  
  
"Yeah and I need a good drink and some different company" agreed Chiana, glaring at the red head "The princess here is driving me insane and Rygel obviously ran out of soap several days ago"  
  
"It has only been 19 solar days since Crichton left and he said wait for 20 days. There is no commerce planet within range, and besides Moya refuses to move from here for the time being"  
  
"Pilot, Pilot, it's been 23 days now and we still haven't moved. Let's face it, Crichton and Aeryn are not coming back. They're either dead or they're shacked up somewhere much more pleasant than this" Jool was starting to lose patience.  
  
"I'm forced to agree. I haven't had anything but stale food cubes to eat for the last three days. We need more supplies" Rygel joined in the debate  
  
"Moya and I are still reluctant to abandon hope that Commander Crichton and Officer Sun will return. We propose to wait for just one more day and then we will leave for the nearest commerce planet" replied Pilot  
  
"I think that is perfectly reasonable, Pilot" replied D'Argo, glaring at his dissenting shipmates. "We are perfectly safe here and we owe it Crichton and Aeryn to wait as long as we can"  
  
A few arns later, Rygel and Chiana were playing yet another game of Tardek. Their level of cheating had reached such heights (or perhaps depths) that they barely bothered sticking to any of the rules. D'Argo and Jool were both sleeping when they were rudely awakened  
  
"Everybody" Pilot's voice sounded worried. "I have picked up two command carriers on long range scans"  
  
"Two? I thought they never travelled together?" replied a startled D'Argo.  
  
"Well there are definitely two and they are heading this way. 300 microts until they will be able to identify us from their scans, 500 microts until we are within weapons range. They appear to be pursuing a small transport craft. It is trying to hail us"  
  
"Pilot, forget about them and starburst now" shouted Chiana, "we don't need anymore stowaways from the Peacekeepers"  
  
Suddenly a familiar voice came over the comms  
  
"Pilot, Pilot, pick up the phone old buddy. We're in deep frelling dren here"  
  
"Commander Crichton is that you?"  
  
"No it's the cookie monster! Sure it's me, Pilot. Get the docking web out real quick and then get us the hell out of here"  
  
"You are not yet within range of the docking web, Commander"  
  
"Oh Shit." A flash of light came from one of the carriers. The crew watched in horror as Crichton's ship managed to dodge the shot. A second shot clipped the wing of the transport, making it veer violently.  
  
"I've lost manoeuvrability, propulsion down to 70%. Another shot and we're toast"  
  
"I've got you in the web, Commander," shouted Pilot, "prepare for starburst people." A "yeee haahh" was heard distinctly over the comms as Moya went into starburst. They had made it away from the nearest carrier with microts to spare.  
  
When Moya came out of starburst the others rushed into the cargo bay where Crichton had landed the transport. He came out carrying Aeryn.  
  
"John, it's good to see you and I see you were successful in finding Aeryn. How did you manage it?" asked D'Argo, a big grin on his face.  
  
"Good to see you too guys, I'll tell you all about it later, but right now I need to get Aeryn to the medical bay. Jool, she needs your help real bad. The Peacekeepers used her as a punch bag but I had a doctor patch her up. She seemed to be recovering fine then about a day or so ago she started getting very hot. She developed heat delirium and then about 4 arns ago she became unconsciousness; I think it might be the living death," he finished helplessly.  
  
In the medical bay, Jool fussed around. "She has an infection which I can treat, but the most important thing is to get her temperature down. We need ice packs or something to keep her cold"  
  
"God, we've only just come from an ice planet. If I'd known I would have stayed there longer"  
  
Jool suddenly became efficient and swung into action, throwing out orders as she zipped around the med bay, mixing up a concoction to give to Aeryn. "D'Argo make up some ice packs from the supplies in the freezer. Crichton, Chiana, I want you to bathe her in very cold water." They all did as they were asked. Even Rygel hovered about looking anxious. Jool peeled away the bandage from the area across Aeryn's midriff where the doctor had operated. It hadn't healed properly and had become infected. Once she had cleaned and redressed the wound she turned to John, a sober look on her face.  
  
"There's not much more I can do John. I've given her something to fight the infection, but if we don't get her temperature down she'll slip into the living death and then there's not a lot of hope. We must keep bathing her and hope for the best."  
  
The others all tried to help but John wouldn't be drawn from Aeryn's side and he continued to bathe her with ice cold water.  
  
"Come on baby, don't leave me, not now, not when we've made it safely back to Moya. You can't do this, not with everything we've been through" He was desperate for her to recover.  
  
While John kept up his vigil, Moya headed deeper and deeper into areas of the uncharted territories they had never been to before, to put as much distance between themselves and the pursuing command carriers as possible. Three days passed in which John hardly left Aeryn's side. Chiana did her best to get him to rest.  
  
"Hey, old man, you look like a fekkik and you smell worse"  
  
"I love you too Chi!"  
  
"Why don't you go have a bath and a shave while I look after Aeryn?"  
  
"No, I want to be here when she wakes up." Chiana didn't like to say that it was looking increasingly unlikely that she would ever wake up. The others gathered in Pilot's den to discuss Aeryn's condition. Chiana and Jool sat next to Pilot, comforting the huge creature who was extremely anxious for his friend.  
  
"She's not recovering as she should. She was obviously too far gone before I could treat the infection. I don't think she's going to come out of it. Someone's going to have to talk to him about this and I don't think it should be me" said Jool  
  
"I'll do it," replied D'Argo heavily "but we're all going to have to be there for him."  
  
D'Argo walked quietly up to John as he sat in the med bay bathing Aeryn's face.  
  
"Well my friend, we haven't really had a chance to talk since you got back. Where did you find her, John?" he asked  
  
"They had her at High Command like we thought. I got there just before she was scheduled to be executed. They had tortured and beaten her but she was still defiant" He stroked her fevered face.  
  
"How did you get her out?"  
  
"Just like I said I would D" he replied with a lopsided grin  
  
"What, you just walked in and walked out with her?"  
  
"Well that was pretty much the essence of the operation"  
  
"So why were you being pursued by two full command carriers?"  
  
"Um, I kinda left my calling card and blew a bit of a hole in their headquarters!" This made D'Argo chuckle but then he became more serious  
  
"Well at least you've got Aeryn back to Moya where she belongs. She would have been happy to know that John"  
  
"And she will know it D'Argo, she will" replied John with determination. D'Argo rested his hand on his friend's arm.  
  
"Oh my friend, this is one of the hardest things I have ever had to say to anyone, but you know that Aeryn wouldn't want to be left in the living death and she wouldn't want you to waste your life sitting here in false hope. You have to remember the promise you made her cycles ago not long after you first came on Moya; that you would end her pain if this happened"  
  
"No, no I won't, I can't" cried John, tears welling in his eyes.  
  
"I know my feelings for her are different to yours John, but she is my friend and I will do this for her and for you"  
  
"No I won't let you D'Argo, not yet. I won't give up hope yet," he said, his voice cracking as the tears started to fall. He lay his head down on the side of Aeryn's bed, his arms thrown across her. The strain of the last monen taking its toll, he wept. D'Argo stood and looked down at his friend and patted his shoulder awkwardly. He glanced at the others standing by the door. Chiana wept openly.  
  
The med bay was now quiet, except for the background sounds of Moya and Aeryn's somewhat shallow and laboured breathing. The others had respected John's feelings and left him alone with Aeryn for the time being. They knew that he needed time to accept that easing Aeryn's death would be the merciful thing to do. He sat silently watching her chest rise and fall. His gaze switched to her face. The bruises and cuts had almost faded. The fever gave her an almost healthy flush. She looked so beautiful to him that he couldn't believe that there was anything wrong with her.  
  
"I remember the first time I saw this face" he said, stroking her cheek, "right before you kicked my butt all around that cell. I remember seeing it angry and determined, tender and loving; I remember everything about it, about you. Aeryn, I love you and I always will. Please try and fight it, honey, I need you." He laid his head down on her bed and slept.  
  
John was dreaming of Aeryn and it was a great dream. They were lying together on the shore of his favourite lake in Maine. There was a cloudless blue sky above them and they were watching the insects skit across the water. There was an occasional 'plop' in the water as a fish came up to catch one. Aeryn was gazing at him with love in her eyes and her hand was softly stroking his hair. Confused for a minute as sleep clouded his brain, he realised that it wasn't all a dream. There really was a hand stroking his hair. He raised his head and met Aeryn's weakly smiling gaze.  
  
"You look like dren" she croaked  
  
"You're not exactly an oil painting yourself, darlin', but you look much better than you did a few arns ago. Seeing you awake at all is a sight for sore eyes"  
  
"What happened? I feel like I've been run over by a herd of Barillian gomchars"  
  
"I've no idea what they may be but I think I can understand the affect. You got an infection in your wound and almost slipped into the living death" She looked around her  
  
"Am I dreaming or did we make it back to Moya?  
  
"Sure did, babe, and I intend us to stay that way now; the next time you go on recon in your Prowler I'm coming with you, " said John, clasping her hand tightly  
  
"I can't go on recon again, I don't have a Prowler any more"  
  
"I'll find and secure someone else's for you Babe"  
  
"Don't you mean take by force?" she smiled, echoing one of their previous conversations  
  
"Anything to keep you happy" replied John, happy that her mind seemed none the worse for her recent brush with the living death.  
  
The others came into the room on Pilot's alert that Aeryn was awake. She smiled weakly at them. John had a big soppy grin plastered on his hairy face and they knew that everything was all right.  
  
"Back together again. Welcome home Aeryn" D'Argo was the first to speak. Aeryn thought about his words and realised that they were right. This was her family, her home.  
  
"Thanks, its good to be back with you on Moya, to be home"  
  
The End  
  
[Note: I toyed with the idea of not having a happy ending but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Sorry to those of you who would like to have more angst!!] 


End file.
